This is an article about a study conducted on Griffin, a CAG with Dr. P (and, if you look closely, you will see that he is also plucking, same as poor Alex) about how parrots can recognize shapes even when they are 'hidden' in the picture. It doesn't surprise me as I remember reading that birds have a completely different 'path' for the images perceived by their eyes to reach the part of the brain that makes sense of them (which is what allows them to 'identify' what they see). They not only have a real smart brain super packed with neurons but also a visual 'shortcut' to it! Cool, isn't it?! And I always thought that it must have something to do with the fact that they fly - I mean, if they couldn't figure out what they are seeing real fast as well as accurately, they would end up flying over potential sources of food without realizing it, not?
http://phys.org/news/2016-07-parrots.html